Yet another excellent book by Priest. I found the story, told through different perspectives and through different time periods (though not the time traveling sort) to be fascinating. My favorite section was the last, where everything came together for the big fight. Priests storytelling was brilliant and I cannot wait to read more of her books. ( )

The premise: A nun fights werewolves. :) Okay, okay, that's not enough, is it? Eileen Callaghan left an Irish Convent with a secret and a mission, and that mission was to hunt a man by the name of Jack Gabert--a man who's cursed with an unnatural sickness that warps his mind and body, a man who's beyond the redemption of God. Jack and Eileen hunt each other across the United States in the years following the Civil War. Their story is divided into three tales, each building on the other. Priest takes the werewolf cliche and returns it to its roots: horror.

My Rating

Worth the Cash: it was certainly a pleasure to indulge my werewolf fetish even though I'd had no intention of doing so, and once again, I'm in love with Priest's use of settings and details to make her story come alive. Though in some respect, in regards to setting, I'm very familiar with it, as it is my back yard, but even so: she takes larger ideas (werewolves) and stories (Jack the Ripper) and makes them an integral part of myth and folklore here in our history, and that's a very cool thing. She also manages to focus the story just right, and she doesn't pull back her punches when it comes to violence. Not that this is a violent book, but what's needed is what's done, and like I said before, she returns werewolves to their natural state: violent monsters who prey on humans, and she follows the destruction those monsters leave in their wake. It's a great yarn, fast to read even with the different POVs (multiple first in tale #1; third in tale #2; letters and multiple first in tale #3). Werewolf fans definitely ought to give this a go, and those of you who are horror readers, what are you waiting for? I swear, Cherie Priest's work doesn't get NEAR the attention it should, so if you haven't checked out her work yet, drop what you're doing and do so now.

The full review, which does contain some massive spoilers, may be found in my LJ. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome.

REVIEW: Cherie Priest's DREADFUL SKIN ( )

There are three linked stories in this collection, all featuring the same werewolf hunting nun. Yes, that is right. A werewolf hunting nun. Someone that is not quite human herself, and on the trail of a monster, throughout the three stories.

The first couple are told from the point of view of a few of the characters in it, the third somewhat different for the first major part, being recounted in letters and journals.

On the whole, rather good.

Sister Eileen Callaghan : The Wreck of the Mary Byrd - Cherie Priest
Sister Eileen Callaghan : Halfway To Holiness - Cherie Priest
Sister Eileen Callaghan : Our Lady of the Wasteland - Cherie Priest

"I ducked into a niche between a cabin and the pilot house and hiked my skirt up enough to reach down into my garter holster. I've heard it said that God made all men, but Samuel Colt made all men equal.

We'd see what Mr. Colt could do for a woman."

While Mr. Colt's equality of weaponry is one thing, I doubt it applies to werewolves, and one of which is what this nun is hunting, and has tracked him to a riverboat. Or at least she hopes she has, and it isn't the other way around.

4 out of 5

Sister Eileen, still looking for Jack, has her own case of the furries to deal with, and comes a werewolf at a revivalist camp.

3.5 out of 5

When Jack and the revivalist's son from the second story team up for a reign of terror and snacking, Eileen realises she needs help, and makes a stand with some allies in a town church.

3.5 out of 5

http://superprose.blogspot.com/2008/03/sister-eileen-callaghan-dreadful-skin.html ( )

Sample Chapters: http://webscriptions.net/chapters/159...

I've been a fan of the werewolf story for as long as I can remember; I love those furry monstrosities above all others. So when I heard Cherie Priest, whose other novels I very much enjoyed, had was putting out a set of three connected stories about my favorite lycanthrope, I had to check it out.

But not, I'll admit, without some trepidation. As much as I did love both Four and Twenty Blackbirds and Wings to the Kingdom, and as much as they showed how well she can craft a great horror story, she was about to step into my territory. She was going to have to be measured against every book I've ever read about werewolves and every movie I've seen dealing with them. Unfair expectations for any writer, to be sure, but what can I say, it's werewolves. Do them right, or not at all.

She did them much better than right! Despite being broken into what the product description calls "disjointed" sections, Dreadful Skin presents an engaging story that I had great difficulty putting down. I had no trouble transitioning from one section to the next, though all three are written in drastically different formats. I especially enjoyed how the first section, The Wreck of the Mary Byrd, was told. Here is an author who respects the reader and says "If you're smart enough to pick up this book, you're smart enough you don't need to be coddled with a basic chronological narrative." I always appreciate that.

If you're a fan of werewolves, of horror in general, or if you just want an example of some quality storytelling, I highly recommend Dreadful Skin. My only complaint (which should be taken as a compliment) is that it left me wanting more. ( )